Why Do I Have Back Pain in the Morning?

Are you waking up with back pain in the morning? Believe it or not, on average, we spend a whopping 30% of our entire lives sleeping. Waking up well rested and energized from a good night’s sleep is a luxury many people take for granted. Luckily, there are some things you can do proactively to try to get a good night’s rest and wake up without pain and discomfort.

Here’s what you should consider if you’re waking up with back pain in the morning:

Wrong Mattress & Pillow

When you think of an ideal mattress, you might think of something big, soft and almost cloud-like, right? Well, we hate to break it to you, but super soft mattresses are actually terrible for your back. The ideal mattress is firm enough to support your body through hours of sleeping night after night. It’s also a common rule that you should replace your mattress every 8-10 years. After that length, your mattress loses a lot of its support.

Along with your mattress being a major factor, choosing the wrong type of pillow can cause uncomfortable and long-lasting neck pain. The most important thing to look for in a pillow is that it supports the natural curves of your neck. Feather pillows are not going to do this, but there are memory foam and cervical pillows out there that will do the trick.

Wrong Sleep Position

Sleeping on your stomach can cause major back pain. When you sleep on your stomach, you go into extension. Doing so goes against the curve of your back, putting a lot of tension on your spine if held there for long periods of time. We definitely recommend sleeping on your side or on your back. You can even try placing a couple pillows under your knees while sleeping on your back. This will help alleviate pain by taking pressure off of your low back.

How You’re Getting Up

Do you like to take your time in the morning and ease yourself out of bed? Or, does your alarm make you pop up out of bed and rush around? It is possible that you could be getting out of bed incorrectly, and not giving your body enough to warm-up before moving and bending. Luckily, these two issues can also easily be changed with the right advice.

When you get up from lying down, your immediate reaction may be to just sit straight up. This can cause sharp/shooting pains down into your low back because you are using your core so quickly when your body has been in a resting state. Instead, it is best to be a little bit more careful when sitting up. Start by rolling to your left or right side and brace yourself with your hands. Slowly push yourself up using your arm muscles. This should really help eliminate the immediate twinges of back pain from getting up too quickly.

Along with that, you might be trying to do too much too early without your muscles being warm. If you try twisting or bending without giving your muscles a proper warm-up, you are really putting yourself at stake for injury. We hear it from patients all the time, “I was just bending over to put on my socks and shoes and my back just went out!” A warm shower and light stretching can do wonders when

Waking up should be anything but painful. Our suggestions above should help to alleviate your symptoms of back pain in the morning. If all of these avenues have been explored, and you are still experiencing discomfort and pain when you get up, especially pain that lasts throughout your day, you should make an appointment with your local health care professional or physical therapist.

OSI Physical Therapy

One Comment

I know that not having the right mattress can cause back pain. My back really bothered me when I had a really firm mattress. As soon as I got a more plush euro top mattress with memory foam in it, I felt much better. I do have periodic issues, but it is generally when I am not as active as I usually am. Stretching daily, working out, eating healthy is good to keep yourself in top shape. I have found that in more difficult times with my back an adjustment by a chiropractor has been helpful. It isn’t good to live with back pain, so finding the source and finding the right solution is important. Great information, thanks for sharing!